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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A western Alaska census area named for confederate officer Wade Hampton will be known as the Kusilvak Census Area going forward.

The U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday that agency publications and products referencing 2015 data will refer to that area by the new name, chosen by local leaders. That part of Alaska is home to the Kusilvak Mountains.

An agency spokeswoman says reports referencing older data still would use the Wade Hampton designation.

Gov. Bill Walker last week wrote the Census Bureau director, making official his intent to change the name.

Calls to change the name began before last month’s deadly shootings in South Carolina that brought renewed attention to confederate symbols. But supporters of the name change said that elevated the issue.